ASP Course

Lesson 1 • Setting Up the Development Environment

Guides installation and configuration of a local web server and scripting tools. A working environment is required before any hands-on coding begins.

Lesson 2 • What Is ASP and How It Works

Covers the request-response cycle, server-side execution model, and ASP's role in dynamic web content. Provides the conceptual base for all subsequent coding work.

Lesson 3 • Control Flow and Basic Logic

Teaches conditional statements and loops to control page output dynamically. These constructs underpin every data-driven feature built later in the course.

Lesson 4 • ASP File Structure and Syntax Basics

Introduces the .asp file format, script delimiters, and inline code blocks. Students write their first valid ASP responses using correct syntax.

Lesson 1 • The Response Object

Covers writing output, setting headers, redirecting users, and controlling caching. Response management is essential for every page the server delivers.

Lesson 2 • Cookies and Persistent State

Details creating, reading, updating, and expiring cookies for persistent client-side state. Complements Session by covering long-lived user data storage.

Lesson 3 • Session and Application Objects

Teaches state management across pages using Session and Application objects. Students implement user-level and application-level data persistence.

Lesson 4 • The Server Object

Explores Server.CreateObject, HTMLEncode, MapPath, and Execute methods. These utilities are foundational for component instantiation and file path resolution.

Lesson 1 • Reusable Form Processing Patterns

Introduces self-posting pages, sticky forms, and centralised validation routines. These patterns reduce code duplication across multi-form applications.

Lesson 2 • Server-Side Input Validation

Implements required-field checks, data-type validation, and range constraints in VBScript. Prevents invalid data from reaching the database or business logic layer.

Lesson 3 • HTML Forms and ASP Integration

Connects HTML form elements to ASP processing pages using GET and POST methods. Establishes the full round-trip pattern used in every data-entry feature.

Lesson 4 • Sanitising Input Against Injection

Teaches escaping and encoding techniques to neutralise script injection and SQL injection vectors. Directly supports the security practices introduced in later chapters.

Lesson 1 • Error Handling in Database Operations

Covers On Error Resume Next, Err object inspection, and ADO Errors collection. Robust error handling prevents data corruption and exposes actionable diagnostics.

Lesson 2 • Parameterised Queries and Stored Procedures

Introduces ADO parameters to prevent SQL injection and call stored procedures efficiently. Builds on input sanitisation skills from the previous chapter.

Lesson 3 • ADO Architecture and Connection Setup

Explains the ADO object model and how to open database connections using connection strings. Establishes the foundation for all data-driven page development.

Lesson 4 • Executing SQL Queries

Covers running SELECT, INSERT, UPDATE, and DELETE statements through ADO Command and Connection objects. Students perform full CRUD operations against a live database.

Lesson 1 • Cross-Site Scripting Prevention

Covers XSS attack vectors and the encoding techniques that neutralise them in ASP output. Builds directly on the input sanitisation skills from Chapter 3.

Lesson 2 • SQL Injection Defence in Depth

Reinforces parameterised queries and adds database permission hardening as a second layer. Defence in depth ensures no single failure exposes the database.

Lesson 3 • Authorisation and Access Control

Implements role-based page access checks and redirect-on-fail guards. Ensures users can only reach resources appropriate to their permission level.

Lesson 4 • Authentication and Login Systems

Builds a session-based login system with credential verification against a database. Authentication is the gateway control for all protected application areas.

Lesson 1 • Search and Filter Functionality

Implements keyword search and multi-criteria filtering with dynamic SQL construction. Reinforces parameterised query skills while adding real-world search UX.

Lesson 2 • Record Listing and Pagination

Builds paginated record lists using SQL TOP/OFFSET or Recordset paging. Pagination is a universal requirement in any application displaying large datasets.

Lesson 3 • Detail and Edit Pages

Creates record detail views and edit forms pre-populated from the database. Students implement the full read-update cycle for a single record.

Lesson 4 • Reusable Include Files and Components

Introduces Server-Side Includes and reusable ASP include files for headers, footers, and DB helpers. Modular code reduces duplication across multi-page applications.

Lesson 1 • Identifying Performance Bottlenecks

Introduces profiling techniques and common ASP slowdown causes such as unbuffered output and open connections. Diagnosis must precede any optimisation effort.

Lesson 2 • Application-Level Caching Strategies

Uses the Application object and external cache stores to serve repeated data without database hits. Caching is the highest-leverage optimisation for read-heavy pages.

Lesson 3 • Scalability Considerations

Introduces stateless design, session offloading, and load-balancing readiness for growing traffic. Prepares students to architect apps that scale beyond a single server.

Lesson 4 • Database Query Optimisation

Covers index usage, query rewriting, and connection reuse to reduce database load. Efficient queries compound with caching to deliver the greatest performance gains.

Lesson 1 • URL Routing and Clean URLs

Implements URL rewriting and query-string abstraction to produce clean, SEO-friendly URLs. Improves both user experience and search engine discoverability.

Lesson 2 • COM Components and Server-Side Objects

Extends ASP functionality using COM components for email, PDF generation, and image processing. Students integrate third-party components using Server.CreateObject.

Lesson 3 • Custom Error Handling and Logging

Builds a centralised error handler that logs details to a file or database and shows friendly messages. Replaces scattered On Error blocks with a consistent application-wide strategy.

Lesson 4 • Migrating and Modernising ASP Applications

Covers incremental migration strategies from classic ASP toward ASP.NET or API-backed architectures. Equips students to extend the lifespan of legacy codebases strategically.